


Unfamiliar Skies

by galoots



Category: Disney Duck Universe, Disney Ducks (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Implied Bi Scrooge, Other, bittersweet romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 18:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18057782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galoots/pseuds/galoots
Summary: Goldie encounters faces old and new at the annual Billionaire Club's Ball.





	Unfamiliar Skies

         The swell of orchestral music filled the ballroom of Rockerduck’s palatial estate with the gaiety and brilliance one expected of the annual Billionaire Club’s Gala. It was the oil magnate’s first year hosting the ball, and, accordingly, he had pulled out all the stops. Crystalline light glinted off intricate chandeliers, their many-beaded boughs refracting and scattering it. The barrel-vaulted ceiling with its square-coffered panels shone like a night sky spattered with stars, the likes of which Goldie had seen many a time in the bitter cold nights of the Yukon. The atmosphere permeated a nostalgic haze that she rarely let herself indulge in, or, perhaps, she was slightly tipsy from the aperitifs she’d quaffed earlier. No harm, liquor and laughter were the social lubricants that had earned her the title of The Star of the North.

           Perhaps the coalescing intoxicants of the night were what persuaded Goldie to scan the dance floor for a certain bespectacled, top-hat sporting duck. Or it could have been the promise of watching Scrooge dissolve into a shy, spluttering schoolgirl that tempted her. Either way, her eyes narrowed slyly when they finally chanced upon him leading her to circle in on him. “Hello, handsome. Care for a dance?”

            “Goldie!” Whirling in the direction of her voice, Scrooge faced her with surprise tempered with delight. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You know I always save a dance for you, unfortunately I’m afraid this young chap has my dance card fully booked.”

            Young chap? She knew Scrooge was adventurous, but she hadn’t thought that he was quite _that_ adventurous. It didn’t bother her any, in fact, she’d known many a man who’d sought the comfort of another man’s arms in Dawson, especially when the men were rugged, the women scarce, and the arctic winds howled at one’s doors. She was a bit shocked that Scrooge conveyed it so freely, but she wasn’t surprised, she’d seen the way he’d eyed some of the particularly more handsome lads at the Blackjack Ballroom.

Scrooge’s mysterious dance partner, however, turned out not to be a barrel-chested socialite she was picturing but a small duckling, no more than five or six, clad in a child’s tuxedo and clutching Scrooge’s hand. “Oh! Who’s this… delightful young man?” Her heart sunk unexpectedly, she could have dealt with one of Scrooge’s occasional dalliances, but this child sparked a fear within her that she usually suppressed. Had Scrooge actually found someone else, someone to settle down with? It couldn’t be, could it? She knew she had no proper claim to Scrooge’s heart, but she’d always assumed that he would there, waiting for him, the lighthouse that guided her ship out of stormy seas to briefly shelter in the harbor.

            The duckling hid shyly behind Scrooge’s legs peering up at her with that strange aura that children sometimes gave off with eyes that seemed to penetrate deeper than one wished. With an unaffected manner that made Goldie wonder if she might be imagining the power of this child’s gaze, Scrooge chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Goldie, this is my nephew, wee Donald. I promised his mother that I’d watch him for her tonight.”

            “I see, your nephew!” Shifting her weight from heel to heel, Goldie cleared her throat—it was best not to appear too eager. “Well, isn’t he precious.”

            Goldie still felt a touch unnerved, but her fear that had failed to prove true did a good deal to soothe her unease. That was normal for her, she was never the type that was good with children. Her old mining partner, on the other hand, scooped the boy into his arms with fluid ease that relayed familiarity. “Yes, he’s awfully cute but don’t let that fool you. He’s quite the cheeky scamp. Definitely inherited his share of the McDuck temper.” The duckling tugged Scrooge’s whiskers drawing him close enough to whisper in his ear. “Oh? Is that so? Donnie here says you look quite pretty tonight, Goldie. He especially likes your green dress.”

            “Unca’!” cried an embarrassed Donald.

            “Oh my, was that supposed to be a little secret between the two of us? My apologies, lad.”

            The duckling angrily buried his face into the crook of his uncle’s neck with a pronounced huff. In response, Scrooge inclined his head towards him, and with theatric aplomb kissed Donald’s cheeks, punctuating each kiss with a comic _Mwah!_ sound. After a shower of kisses, a smile crept back on to the grumpy duckling’s face.

            “There, all better! There’s my bonny darling.”

            The world felt titled all of a sudden. How strange it was to see Sourdough Scrooge, the King of the Klondike, one of Duckburg’s elite, act so… _paternal._ Goldie couldn’t help but feel excluded from the scene of warm domesticity in front of her.

            “Unkie Scrooge, is she your special friend?” Donald’s innocent question made Scrooge flush with embarrassment. A small kernel of hope blossomed somewhere within Goldie, had he told his nephew about her? Anxious laughter bubbled up from Scrooge, “Children! They say the darnedest things, don’t they!”

            Goldie smiled, “That they do.” She’d have to remember to send the little tyke a nice big check when his birthday rolled around.

            “But,” interjected Donald before Scrooge hastily cut him off.

            “Sweetheart! Why don’t we go cut a rug, eh?” It took Goldie a moment to recognize that Scrooge’s endearment was directed towards the boy and not her. She slowly lowered the hand she’d begun to raise hoping that Scrooge’s haste had distracted him from the subtle movement.

            The duckling cried excitedly and began to bounce up in down in his uncle’s arms. Before taking his leave, Scrooge turned back towards Goldie looking at her fondly. “Always good to see you, Goldie.”

            “You as well, Scroogie.” She watched as her former beau carried the boy out onto the ballroom floor, he balanced the boy on the top of his spats and the two started an awkward teetering dance. They struck a comic figure out among the gracefully careening couples of Duckburg’s upper class still, no one came close to their joyful and vivacious whirling. Undisciplined and clumsy, Goldie thought their swaying outshone the entire gala’s congregation put together.

            The night sky that had shown like that of the Yukon of old was nothing more than the illustrious effect of light and design. She’d known that of course, but for a moment she’d let herself drift to a different time and place, to a world that had offered so many possibilities. The past was far behind them, and the endless cavalcade of the present would continue onward, indifferent to sentiment, regret, and the totality of humanity’s desperate attempts to beat it back. That force, impervious to all impediments and cruel, had changed Scrooge shaping him into a kinder man. And this revelation kindled a kind of affection Goldie she’d never felt for her former paramour—something softer, something gentler than she thought she was capable of. It was a whole new horizon to explore, one that promised the possibility of another rainbow off in the distance just waiting to be discovered. A lady could get used to this. If Scrooge’s world was capable of expanding than couldn’t hers expand as well? Yes, that suited Goldie just fine; the world was wide enough for her to find her stable footing upon the new ground. There was plenty of it to share, after all, she admitted to herself, that little boy _was_ awfully cute.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to restrain myself at the beginning because I substituted "behatted" for "top-hat sporting." It was just too ridiculous.  
> The first draft of this was much fluffier and shorter, but it evolved while I worked on it. I'm quite happy with the result, I think. That or the usual disgust I feel towards my own writing hasn't quite sunk in yet.


End file.
